Nobuyoshi Araki is a Japanese photographer and contemporary artist obsessed with women in all shades. Eroticism is a central subject for his extremely popular exhibitions. He is known as one of the most radical and controversial photographers of our time.
The Icelandic musician Björk is an admirer of Araki’s work, and served as one of his models. More recently, he has photographed pop singer Lady Gaga.
His works are held in numerous museum collections including the Tate and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
1940 Born in Tokyo
1959 – 1963 Studied photography and film-making at Chiba University
1963 Graduates from the Department of Engineering at Chiba University; majored in Photography and Film Making
1964 First Taiyo Prize for “Satchin”
1963 – 1972 Worked at Dentsu Inc.
1974 Helped found the Workshop School of Photography
1976 Opened Nobuyoshi Araki School
1981 Opened Araki Limited Stock Company
1988 Opened AaT ROOM
1990 Shashin-no-kai Prize from the Photographic Society of Japan
1991 7th Higashikawa Prize
1994 Japan Inter-Design Forum Grand Prix
2008 Austrian Decoration of Honor for Science and Arts
Lives and works in Tokyo
solo exhibitions
2008 Nobuyoshi Araki – Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto – CAMK, Kumamoto
Nobuyoshi Araki – Silent Wishes – Museum der Moderne Salzburg, Salzburg
Kinbaku – Galleri Riis, Oslo
Nobuyoshi Araki- Kinbaku – Galleri Riis, Oslo
Hana Kibaku – Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo
Untitle, 2007 – Galerie Mikael Andersen, Copenhagen
KINBAKU – Jablonka Galerie – Köln, Cologne
2007 Nobuyoshi Araki: Self. Life. Death – Kulturhuset Stockholm, Stockholm
Nobuyoshi Araki – Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo
Nobuyoshi Araki – Rat Hole Gallery, Tokyo
Carte Blanche – Nobuyoshi Araki – Galerie Kamel Mennour, Paris
2006 Nobuyoshi Araki – Rat Hole Gallery, Tokyo
Nobuyoshi Araki – Diaries – Leica Galerie Wien Westlicht, Vienna
Araki – Á la vie la mort – Museé de la photographie de Charleroi, Charleroi
Noboyoshi Araki – Polaroids – Galleria Cà di Frà, Milan
Nobuyoshi Araki – Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo
Nobuyoshi Araki – Galería Enrique Guerrero, Mexico City
Nobuyoshi Araki, Tokyo – Sexteen 1969-1973, 1973 – Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich
2005 Nobuyoshi Araki – Painting Flowers – Jablonka Galerie – Köln, Cologne
Nobuyoshi Araki – Painting Flower and Diaries – Anton Kern Gallery, New York City, NY
Nobuyoshi Araki – Arakinema – Palais de Tokyo, Paris
ARAKI – Michael Hoppen Contemporary, London (England)
Nobuyoshi Araki – self life death – Barbican, London (England)
Noboyushi Araki – Galeria Fortes Vilaça, São Paulo
Araki Nobuyoshi – The Faces of Ishikawa – 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art – Kanazawa, Kanazawa
2004 Nobuyoshi Araki – From Winter to Spring – Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo
Nobuyoshi Araki – Polanographs – galerie bob van orsouw, Zurich
2003 Araki Nobuyoshi – Kirishima Open-Air Museum, Kagoshima
Nobuyoshi Araki – Araki by Araki – Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo
2002 Nobuyoshi Araki – Tokyo still life – Helsingin kaupungin taidemuseo – Helsinki City Art Museum, Helsinki
Araki Nobuyoshi – Ilmin Museum of Art, Seoul
Tutte le donne del mondo. The world of Nobuyoshi Araki – Galleria Civica di Modena, Modena
2001 Nobuyoshi Araki – Jablonka Galerie – Köln, Cologne
Nobuyoshi Araki – Tokyo Still Life – Ikon Gallery, Birmingham (England)
Nobuyoshi Araki – Vintage Prints and Early Works – galerie bob van orsouw, Zurich
2000 Nobuyoshi Araki – Galerie Almine Rech – Paris, Paris
Nobuyoshi Araki – SMAK Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst, Gent
Nobuyoshi Araki – Viaggio Sentimentale – Centro per l´Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato
1999 Nobuyoshi Araki – galerie bob van orsouw, Zurich
Nobuyoshi Araki – CAG – Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1998 Story Portrait by Nobuyoshi Araki – The Art Center – Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok
1997 Nobuyoshi Araki – Wiener Secession, Vienna
Nobuyoshi Araki – galerie bob van orsouw, Zurich
1995 Nobuyoshi Araki – Tokyo Novelle – Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg
Nobuyoshi Araki – Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris
1994 Nobuyoshi Araki – Unconscious Tokyo: Tokyo Cube – White Cube, London (England)
1993 Araki – Japanbilder – Museum Folkwang Essen, Essen
group exhibitions
2010 love and punishment aura gallery beijing
photo beijing 2010 beijing
2009 Untitle – Galerie Almine Rech – Brussels, Brussels
2008 Grotto – Museum 52 – London, London (England)
diana + actaeon – Der verbotene Blick auf die Nacktheit – Stiftung Museum Kunst Palast, Dusseldorf
FOR A LANGUAGE TO COME: Provoking Change in Japanese Postwar Photography – Carolina Nitsch, New York City, NY
Darkside – Fotomuseum Winterthur, Winterthur
Review / Preview: Japanese photographs – Galerie Priska Pasquer, Cologne
REAL. Fotografien aus der Sammlung der DZ-BANK – Städel Museum, Frankfurt/Main
FATTO BENE! – Centro per l´Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato
Lost Paradise – Der Blick des Engels – Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern
Biennale di Alessandria – Shapes of Time – Biennale di Alessandria, Alessandria
Street & Studio: an urban history of photography – Tate Modern, London (England)
In voller Blüte – Museum Villa Rot, Burgrieden-Rot
Photographers of Japanese Descent – Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York City, NY
Selections from the Hara Museum´s Permanent Collection – Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo
araki meets hokusai – Kestner Gesellschaft Hannover, Hannover
For the Spirit – From the UBS Art Collection – Mori Art Museum, Tokyo
Body Work – Le Case d´Arte, Milan
Nouvelles Collections III – Kunsthaus CentrePasquArt – Centre d’Art, Biel/Bienne
Read my Lips – Peres Projects – Berlin, Berlin
The Masked Portrait – Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York City, NY
2007 SWITCHER SEX: Video Works and Photography from the Teutloff Collection – Slought Foundation, Philadelphia, PA
art is uninteresting complete – Galerie Philipp Konzett, Vienna
Araki, Miyamoto, Sugimoto – Contemporary Japanese Photography – Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg
Convection – Three Shadows Photography Art Centre, Beijing
Group Show. “Ten years” – Emily Tsingou Gallery, London (England)
Livres de nus, une anthologie – Maison Européene de la Photographie, Paris
Eyes Of An Island – Japanese Photography 1945-2007 – Michael Hoppen Gallery, London (England)
Eyes Of An Island – Japanese Photography 1945 – 2007 – Michael Hoppen Contemporary, London (England)
Stripped Bare . Der entblößte Körper – C/O Berlin, Berlin
Blue Chips – Galerie Philipp Konzett, Vienna
Souvenir dalla Collezione del Centro per l’arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci – Centro per l´Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato
odd spaces – Galerie Møller Witt, Aarhus
Attitude 2007 – Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto – CAMK, Kumamoto
Pale Carnage – Dundee Contemporary Arts – DCA, Dundee (Scotland)
Les Autres: Nobuyoshi Araki – Peter Christopherson – Eve Fowler – Ratio 3, San Francisco, CA
Nous nous sommes tant aimés – Collections de Saint-Cyprien, Saint Cyprien
Into Me, Out of Me – MACRO Future, Rome
spectacular space – galerie bob van orsouw, Zurich
Fondation Beyeler: EROS in der Kunst der Moderne – BA-CA Kunstforum Wien, Vienna
Fotografie – Benden & Klimczak, Viersen
Speed #1 – natura naturata – velocidad sin movimiento – IVAM – Institut Valencià d’Art Modern, Valencia
Pale Carnage – Arnolfini, Bristol (England)
2006 INTO ME / OUT OF ME – Kunst-Werke Berlin e.V. – KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin
EROS in der Kunst der Moderne – Foundation Beyeler, Riehen
Peintres de la vie moderne Modern-life painters – Donation – Caisse des Dépôts’ photograph collection – Centre Pompidou – Musée National d´Art Moderne, Paris
Suesser Schlummer. Der Schlaf in der Kunst – Residenz Galerie Salzburg, Salzburg
flutter – The Approach, London (England)
Into me / Out of me – P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island
Sweet Ecstasy – Nicola von Senger AG, Zurich
Why Pictures Now – Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig – MUMOK , Vienna
Flowers in Contemporary Art – Benaki Museum, Athens
Berlin-Tokyo/Tokyo-Berlin. Die Kunst zweier Städte – Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin
The Child – Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Toyota Aichi
Full House – Gesichter einer Sammlung – Städtische Kunsthalle Mannheim, Mannheim
Polamaniacs – Photology, Milan
Boys and Flowers – Western Bridge, Seattle, WA
Group Show: A Lover’s Discourse – Peres Projects – Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Hundert Küsse sind besser als einer (Hundred Kisses are better than one) – Krinzinger Projekte, Vienna
2005 Rising Sun, Melting Moon – Contemporary Art from Japan – The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Brutal Ornamental – Galerie Michael Hall (former Galerie Kosak Hall), Vienna
rupture des évidences – Le Confort Moderne, Poitiers
Miradas y conceptos en la Colección Helga de Alvear – Galeria Helga de Alvear, Madrid
persistence – Aura Gallery – Shanghai, Shanghai
perdere la testa – Lattuada Studio, Milan
Chronos – Cesac – Centro Sperimentale per le Arti Contemporanee, Caraglio
Blumenstück – Künstlers Glück – Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen
Boost in the Shell – AEROPLASTICS contemporary, Brussels
Die Sinnliche Linie – Japanischer Holzschnitt, Klimt, Schmalix, Araki, Takano – Museum der Moderne Salzburg, Salzburg
Miradas y conceptos en la colección Helga de Alvear – Museo Extremeño e Iberoamericano de Arte Contemporáneo MEIAC, Badajoz
Der fotografierte Mensch – Neues Museum – Staatliches Museum für Kunst und Design in Nürnberg, Nuremberg
Europe in Art – A HVB Group Project – National Museum of Contemporary Art (MNAC), Bucharest
Contemporánea – Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg – Fundación Juan March, Madrid
Contemporánea-Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg – Museo de Arte Abstracto Español, Cuenca
Cantos – Casino Luxembourg – Forum d’art contemporain, Luxembourg
2004 Araki – Kabakov – Masi – Schnabel – Centro per l´Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato
Realm of the Senses – James Cohan Gallery – New York, New York City, NY
Wer bietet mehr? – Fünfzehn Jahre Deichtorhallen Hamburg – Deichtorhallen, Hamburg
El somni eròtic – Centre d’Art la Panera, Lérida
Kurzdavordanach – SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne
Nature of Artifice – 9. Mostra Internazionale di Architettura – Biennale Architettura di Venezia, Venice
Rose c’est la vie – On Flowers in Contemporary Art – Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv
Triennale Kleinplastik Fellbach – Triennale Kleinplastik Fellbach, Fellbach
10 Year Anniversary Exhibition – Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo
Beauty of Darkness – Reflex New Art Gallery, Amsterdam
Instant instincts – Galleria In Arco, Turin
2003 Mask Of Japan — Japanese Contemporary Photography
XXX – Galleria Davide Di Maggio – Berlin, Berlin
Cold Play – Set 1 aus der Sammlung des Fotomuseums Winterthur – Fotomuseum Winterthur, Winterthur
Happiness – A Survival Guide for Art and Life – Mori Art Museum, Tokyo
Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo collection – Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin
Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Collection – IVAM – Institut Valencià d’Art Modern, Valencia
La vita delle forme – Galleria Civica di Modena, Modena
Female Turbulence – AEROPLASTICS contemporary, Brussels
Works Seldom Seen at ShanghART – ShanghART Gallery, Shanghai
In faccia al mondo. Il ritratto contemporaneo nel medium fotografico – Villa Croce Museo d´Arte Contemporanea, Genoa
“Phantom der Lust. Visionen des Masochismus in der Kunst” – Neue Galerie Graz am Landesmuseum Joanneum, Graz
Update #6: Monumente der Melancholie – Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg
The Cat Show – ACME, Los Angeles, CA
JAPAN – Keramik und Fotografie – Tradition und Gegenwart – Deichtorhallen, Hamburg
Gallery Artists – Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo
Selections from the Hara Museum’s Permanent Collection – Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo
SEX – Karyn Lovegrove Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2002 Der Akt in der Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts – Kunsthalle in Emden, Emden
T R O T T O I R S – S I D E W A L K S [ PROMENADES EN MARGES ] – Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris
Living Room – Jablonka Galerie – Köln, Cologne
Keine Kleinigkeit – Kunsthalle Basel, Basel
Desire – Galleria d´Arte Moderna di Bologna – GAM, Bologna
Oeil pour oeil: Collection Privée de Lyon – Le RECTANGLE – Centre d´Art de la Ville de Lyon, Lyon
OPEN / INVITED e v+ a 2002 – ev+a, Limerick
Im Sucher – Kunstmuseum Solothurn, Solothurn
Botanique – PKM GALLERY – Seoul, Seoul
2001 The Nature of Still Life – Galleria d´Arte Moderna di Bologna – GAM, Bologna
Update #4: The Dark – Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg
Desire – Ursula Blickle Stiftung, Kraichtal-Unteröwisheim
I Bienal de Valencia – The Body of Art – Bienal de Valencia, Valencia
2000 Et l’homme créa la femme – Fifty One Fine Art Photography, Antwerp
Veronica’s Revenge – Contemporary Perspectives on Photography – Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney, Sydney, NSW
Contemporary Photography from Japan – Museum De Pont, Tilburg
Yume no Ato – Was vom Traum blieb … – Haus am Waldsee, Berlin
1999 Get Together – Kunst als Teamwork – Kunsthalle Wien (Karlsplatz), Vienna
Johann Korec – Galerie Susanne Zander, Cologne
Self Portrait, Loans from the nvisible Museum – Mercer Union, Toronto, ON
Gesammelte Werke 1; Zeitgenössische Kunst seit 1968 – Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg
Attack, fotografie op het scherpst van de snede – Arti et Amicitiae, Amsterdam
SWEET & SOUR – Art & Public, Geneva
Veronica’s Revenge – Photographies De La Collection Lac-Suisse – Casino Luxembourg – Forum d’art contemporain, Luxembourg
1998 Fünf Komma Fünf – Fotomuseum Winterthur, Winterthur
Es grünt so grün… – Bonner Kunstverein, Bonn
Taipei Biennial 1998 – Site of desire – Taipei Biennial, Taipei
Private ficcions – Fundación Joan Miró, Barcelona
Exposition de Groupe – Photographie – Galerie Almine Rech – Paris, Paris
1997 Cities on the move – Wiener Secession, Vienna
The 90s: a family of man? – Casino Luxembourg – Forum d’art contemporain, Luxembourg
Desire & Void: Contemporary Japanese photography – ARKEN Museum for Moderne Kunst, Copenhagen
Du construit, du paysage – FRAC – Languedoc-Roussilon, Montpellier
Amours – Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris
Lust und Leere. Japanische Photographie der Gegenwart – Kunsthalle Wien (Museumsquartier), Vienna
1994 Liquid Crystal Futures – Contemporary Japanese Photography – Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh (Scotland)
1993 Love You Tokyo! The Photographs Of Kineo Kuwabara And Nobuyoshi Araki – Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo
1992 Adam & Eve – Museum of Modern Art Saitama, Saitama
selected publication
1971 sentimental journey privately published
1978 the camera between men and women byakuya-shobo tokyo
yoko my love asahi sonorama tokyo
1981 theory of photography tojusha tokyo
photo-theatre: tokyo elegy tojusha tokyo
sniper-shot:arakin-z mirion shuppan tokyo
1982 a ten-year sentimental journey tojusha tokyo
1984 a world of girls byakuya-shobo tokyo
tokyo autumn sanseido tokyo
1989 tokyo nude ota shuppan
tokyo story heibonsha tokyo
1990 the first year of heisei IPC photo tanz
tokyo lucky hole ota shuppan tokyo
towards winter: tokyo a city heading for death magazine house tokyo
1991 sentimental journey / winter journey shinchosha tokyo
skyscrapes / close-range-scapes shinchosha tokyo
colorscapes magazine house tokyo
1993 postwar: august 16 – september 3 1973 art room tokyo
1994 first person photography asahi shinbun tokyo
